Rotary printing apparatus



Aug. 14, 1956 R. A. TISON 2,758,541

ROTARY PRINTING APPARATUS Filed April 2, 1952 I 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTbR'. Rene: Ava-081m Ham Aug. 14, 1956 Filed April 2, 1952 R. A. TISON 2,758,541

ROTARY PRINTING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR'.

Rsu Ausus'rm 'ITsorI United States Patent i 2,758,541 ROTARY PRINTING APPARATUS.

Ren Augustin Tis'on, P aris, France Application April 2, 1952, Serial No. 280,069 Claims priority, application France April 12-, 1951 Claims. c1; 101-228) This invention relates to rotary printing methods and apparatus.

Present day rotary printing machines fed with reeled paper, when they are not used for an always identical paper size, have the serious inconvenience of makingit necessary, for a change of size, to change the printing cylinder and the-controlling gears. These changes entail considerable waste of time.

The present invention has for its object toprovide a rotary printing method and apparatus, by which it is possible to change the paper size ;without changing the printing cylinders and controlling gears. Like other rotary printers, the printer according to the invention permits of employing all available printing methods in: cluding typography,.humid or dry ofise t, aniline, heliography, etc. This printer has therefore all the advantages of existing printers but is free from theirinconvenience accounted for by the only paper size corresponding to the development of the printing cylinder and its sub-multiples.

The above method .consists essentially in usingstereotype blocks or cliches which are-extended not over the whole peripheral length of the printing cylinder but only over a portionof this peripheral length, the paper web being gripped between this cylinder and the corresponding bearing surface only in the region where the clich is thus extended. Consequently, after vits printing stroke the printing cylinder undergoes an idle stroke along a portion of its peripheral length, advantage being taken of this idle stroke to move back the paper web in such manner as to cause the commencementof the clich-tobe printed upon a selected raw portion-of the .paper.

To these ends use is generally made of clichs having, at the utmost, half the peripheral length of the printing cylinder, so as to allow for theidle'stroke at least onehalf of the cylinder periphery. The'web to beimpressed is caused to undergo two motions: on one hand, an alternating motion 'whose velocity during the printing moment equals exactly the tangential velocity of said cylinder,

which alternating motion does not alfect the general longi- 2,758,541 Patented Aug. 14, 19 56 "ice the alternate motion controlling mechanism of the printer of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is an evolution, in plan, of the mechanism whose section is shown in Fig. 2.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring first to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the printer has three cylinders 1, 2 and 3; The zinc clich 4 is mounted on the cylinder 3, whereas the rubber platen 5 (hereafter also called the printing clich) is mounted on the cylinder 2 and the bearing surface 6 on the cylinder 1. The cliches and the bearing'surface cover less than half of peripheries of the cylinders on which they are mounted.

The remaining surfaces of cylinders do not contact one another, so that the paper web-7 is gripped between the cylinders 1 and 2 only where the printing clich 5 and the 'bearing surface. 6 protrude from the cylinders, that is during less than half of revolution of the cylinders. It results therefrom that during the rest of the time the cylinders have an idle stroke during which the web 7 is not gripped between thecylinders and can move back without touching the cylinders.

The web 7, made of paper or any other suitable material, passes around'two stationary guiderolls 8, 8' and, between these rolls, around tworolls 9, 9 carried by a frame 11 moved alternately by means of a frame 12, synchronized with the motion of the cylinders, in a manner explained later. 1

The alternating displacement of theframe 11 is efiected during 'one complete revoiution of the cylinder and the velocity of the paper Web is such that during the printing the cylinders, a displacement which may be varied at will is imparted to the web 7 in the following way:

gTh'e general control shaft 13 drives through pinion 14 the cylinders, through pinion 15 the frame 12, as will be seen later, and through pinion 16 a gear wheel 17 that carries a radial slide 18 along which may be'displaced a slider 19 pivotally connected with ,a rack 21' adapted to rotate a ratchet wheel 22 so as to actuate a set of rolls 23 between which the paper web 7 passes and is thus caused toadvance during the return of the frame 11.v j p The mechanism for controlling the alternating displacement of the" frame 12 may be of any suitable kind,

tudinal displacement of the web, and, on the other hand,

during the idle stroke of the cylinder, a displacement of variable amplitude.

As above stated, the invention is also concerned with a printer suitable for carrying out the above method, and with various mechanisms for imparting to the paper band its alternating motion, without general displacement, and its variable amplitude displacement, as well as for synchronizing these mechanisms with the rotation of the printing cylinder.

The invention will be more clearly understood by referring to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings which show by way of example a form of such printer and in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view showing the printer which, in the particular case under consideration, is an ofiset printer;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail view showing a portion of provided that it imparts to the paper band, during the printing time, the same velocity as the tangential velocity of the printing cylinders.

' The mechanism hereafter described is particularly well suitable for this purpose. ,It comprises (Figs. 1, 2, 3) a gearing 24 provided with'teeth 25, 25 separated by a convenient distance and inclined inversely in a manner to be herringbone shaped. This gearing 24 is keyed to a shaft 26 rotated, continually and in synchronism with the cylinders, through the intermediary of gears 15 and 27. The shaft 26 may be shifted longitudinally in its bearings under the action of a cam 28 provided with a peripheral groove 29 and guided by a follower 31 mounted on the machine framework and engaged into that groove. The gearing 24 may come to mesh alternately with two opposed pairs of toothed racks 32, 32' and 33, 33', rigid with the frame 12 and shifted from one another. The teeth of racks 32, 32 on one hand, and those of racks 33, 33, on the other hand, are inclined inversely in a manner to be herringbone-shaped. Moreover, the teeth of racks 32, 33 have been omitted, as shown, at

one end of the frame '12, whereas the teeth of racks 32, i

33' have been emitted at the other end thereof. I

When the gearing 24, inmesh with the racks 33 and 33', has made a half-revolution, the frame 12 comes to one end of its stroke. Then the follower 31- attains the inclined portion of the groove 29 and henceforth tends to shift the shaft 26 from right to left and consequently the teeth 25', 25' of racks 33, 33 into mesh with the racks 32, 32.

This shifting is facilitated'by the interruption of the ends of the lower rack 33', and those of the higher rack 32'. Indeed, toward the endof its stroke the frame 12 is not actuated any more by the teeth25 and rack 33. Because of the inclinationofthe teeth of this rack the teeth 25 tend to slide away from the rack, while penetrating into the rack. Ultimately, the passage of the gearing 24, with its teeth 25 and 25', from the racks 33-33" to the racks 32-32 is facilitated. The inclination of the oblique portion of groove 29 is, at the time of changing the racks, identical with the inclination of the rack teeth.

'Byjudiciously, selecting the shape of the groove 29 a progressive passage from one pair of racks to the other,

as well as progressive acceleration and deceleratiomare obtained at each stroke end of the frame 12. The latter passes gradually, without jerks and blows, to a constant linear velocity which it must have at the moment.

of printing.

The operation of the machine is clear from the 't-orei going.

Starting from the position shown in Fig. 1: First timing.The cylinders 1, 2 make a half-revolution in the direction of the arrows, while between them the web 7 moves, together with its frame 12, from left to right at the same velocity. The printing takes place.

Second timing.-The cylinders 1, 2 make a second half-revolution, without gripping between them the paper web. The latter on one hand moves from right to left,

together with the frame 12, an amount equal toits dis placement of the first timing and, on" the other hand, moves from left to right with respect to the frame, owing to the rolls 23, an amount determined, according to the desired size of paper, by adjusting the'sli'cler'19.

Of course, there may be.arrrangetl, on the same paper web, as many similar printing elements as desired, and printing may be effected on both sides of the paper. In this case it is necessary to have only one paper advancing system and only one system of alternately controlling the frames, all of which will be operatively interconnected.

What is claimed is:

1. A printing device, comprising, in combinatioman elongated frame. and guide rollers mounted at each end of said frame for guidinga web of material to be printed along said frame: actuating meansoperatively connected to said elongated frame forreciprocating said frame forwardly from a given starting position at a constantspced and then rearwardly back to said starting position; displacing means for displacing a given length of the web of material forwardly with respect to said frame only during rearward movement thereof; and printing means for printing a portion of the web located between said rollers only during the forward movement of said frame and having at the place of engagement with said web portion a speed equal to twice said constant speed.

2. A printing device, comprising, in combination, an elongated frame and guide rollers mounted at each end of said frame for guiding a web of material to be printed along said frame; actuating means operatively connected to said elongated frame for reciprocating said frame forwardly from a given starting position at a constant speed and then rearwardiy back to said=starting position, said actuating means comprising spaced parallel rack portions on said frame extending along the length thereof and being laterally offset from each other, said rack portions being respectively located in parallel planes with the teeth of one rack portion directed toward the plane in which the other rack portion is located, pinion means arranged between said planesforalternately engaging said rack portions for reciprocating said frame, and shifting means for automatically shifting said pinion means from one of said rack portions into engagement with the other rack portion at the end of the motion of said frame in each direction; displacing means for displacing a given length of the web of material forwardly with respect to said frame only during the rearward movement thereof; printing means-for-printing a portion of the web of material located between said rollers only during forward movement of said frame and having at the pla'ceof engagement with said web portion a speed equal to twice said constant speed; and adjusting means for adjusting the lengthot the web of material displaced by said displacing means dutingrearward' movement of 3 said frame.

3. The device as" defined in claim 2, wherein each of said rack portions includes a pair of laterally spaced rack members and said pinion means comprises a pinion wheel having a pair of spaced circumferential toothed 'portions adapted to engage alternately with each of said pairs of laterally spacedi'ack members.

4; The device as defined in claim 3, wherein the teeth of the rack members in each pair are'inclined at inverse angles relative to each other.

5. The device as defined in claim 3, wherein the rack members in each pair are offset from each other longitudinally of said frame. 1

References cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 513,554 Blake ;.-2a.. -..t.- Jan. 30, 1894 1,620,863 Belcher nth-MM--- Mar. 15, 1927 1,653,199 Belcher ....t,.. Dec. 20, 1927 1,688,967 'Holmes Oct. 23, 1928 $1,978,715 Meisel a d. Oct. 30, 1934 1,999,472 Nixon flan e Apr. 30, 1935 2,029,996 Furman inc-ct. Feb. 4, 1936 2,039,236 Meisel' Apr. 28, 1936 2,546,372 Pinckert Mar. 27, 1951 

